As President & CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), I am writing to express BIO’s support for S. 5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. This bill expands the research that our nation’s leading scientists believe holds the promise of finding cures and treatments for the millions of patients who currently suffer from a variety of diseases and disabilities.

Although out nation’s existing federal stem cell policy has advanced this important field, it is clear that an expanded program is essential for this research to achieve its full potential. As Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health recently last month, “From my standpoint, it is clear today that American science will be better-served, and the nation will be better-served, if we let out scientists have access to more stem cell lines.”